GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 218
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Many people think that there is too much violence on television and that there should be laws to control the amount and type of violence shown on television programmes.
Are laws controlling the content of television programmes necessary? How much control should there be?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
Television proves to be an enormously influential tool of communication. It entertains people, gives them reasons for laughter and joy, but it may also instigate violence, driving them towards crimes because of excessive brutality shown on many programmes. Therefore, several people regard law as necessary for limiting violence on television. I am in favour of this viewpoint, but I also believe that absolute censorship is not helpful.
There are several reasons why laws are deemed essential for regulating rampageous contents on television. To commence with, media violence has increased significantly in recent years. Many TV series depicts brutal fighting, bloodsheds, gun battles, and even serial killers’ motivation for committing crimes. Consequently, viewers nowadays are desensitized to frenzy, and as a result, they think these violent acts are normal. They also find these shows fun to watch. On top of that, young adults and children are also vulnerable victims of this unexpected surge in media violence. Since they are not able to deduce moral message from the violent shows, they often emulate the violence they watch on television and reckon it as the normal way to treat others. As a recent study exposed, for instance, many juvenile delinquents are the direct consequence of watching aggressive behaviours on television. Therefore, it expounds that laws are really necessary to limit the prevalence of media violence.
However, there should not be very strict laws to prohibit all kinds of violence on television as it might be misused. This is because violence is hard to define and thereby, providing regulators with the absolute authority to censor capriciously and arbitrarily would restrict many creative programmes to be shown to the public. This, in turn, can violate TV channels’ freedom and it will be difficult to preserve democratic values. Therefore, laws should be relaxed for useful and creative programmes. For instance, the programmes that contain some violence with the sole purpose of informing and educating people should be aired late at night and come with warning messages.
In conclusion, it is a fact that laws are necessary to limit the violent contents on TV. One should, nevertheless, consider the fact that it must not curtail TV stations’ freedom as the freedom of expression is the lifeblood of democracy and some useful programmes may contain some violence to educate people.